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How a bill becomes a law in the United States

Any member of Congress is able to introduce a bill, making him or her the sponsor of that particular bill. The congressperson introduces the bill by giving it to a clerk or depositing it into a box called a hopper. Each bill has a unique number, such as H.R.1 for a bill introduced in the House of Representatives or S.1 for a bill introduced in the Senate. Next the Speaker of the House or the officer of the Senate refers the bill to committee. There are specific rules that dictate to which committee the bill will be sent, but a choice is often possible. A bill may also be referred to multiple committees at once, called multiple referral. After the bill is heard in the first committee or subcommittee, it is "marked up," or revised, often extensively. The bill needs a majority vote from the committee to move forward. Once the bill is submitted for consideration by the committee, it is sent to the chamber whence it originally came and voted upon (though there are several ways a bill can be dropped and never voted on). Depending on the type of bill, either a simple majority or a supermajority of either 60 percent or 2/3 is needed for the bill to pass the chamber. Once the bill is passed by one chamber, it is sent to the other.

Upon reaching the other chamber, it is treated just like any other newly proposed bill. It goes through the committee process and if passed, it goes to the floor of the entire chamber. The bill is subject to revision at every step of the process, so it often bears little resemblance to the original bill. In fact, it's not uncommon for a bill's sponsor to vote against it in the end. Revisions are most commonly added in the form of Amendments, many of which have little or nothing to do with the original bill. Sometimes an amendment called a poison pill is attached specifically to get the bill killed. Someone with enough influence in a committee may craft an amendment they know that no one who supports the bill wants in order to get them to vote against their own bill. Another common tactic is to attach amendments for pet projects, called riders, to a popular bill to make it easier to get them through. Pork barrel spending is often approved this way.

Once the bill has passed both houses, it goes to a Conference Committee. This is to reconcile the differences virtually always present between the versions passed by each house. Once the Conference Committee reaches an agreement, the bill must again be voted upon by both houses. If it passes, the bill goes to the President of the United States. He can either sign it, veto it or take no action at all. Signing the bill makes it law. If he vetoes the bill, it is sent back to the house that referred it to him. They vote on it again and pass it to the other house. If both houses pass the bill again with 2/3 majorities, the bill automatically becomes law.

The third option, no action at all, can lead to two separate consequences, depending on what happens in the next 10 days. Once 10 days expire, Congress can pick the bill up and pass it into law without the President's signature. However, they must be in session in order to take this action. If they are not in session, the bill is treated as if it had been vetoed. This is called a Pocket Veto.
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information on the 109th Congress

The 109th United States Congress is the current meeting of the United States legislature, comprised of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. It meets from January 4, 2005 to January 3, 2007. Of the 435 current members of the House of Representatives, 430 were elected in the November 2004 House elections, 3 were elected during the Congress and there are 2 vacancies. Of the 100 current Senators, 33 Senators were elected in 2000, 33 Senators were elected in 2002, 33 Senators were elected in the November 2004 Senate elections, and 1 senator was appointed in January 2006

Dates of sessions:

Two sessions, roughly paralleling the calendar years 2005 and 2006, are scheduled:
First Session: January 4 - December 22, 2005
Second Session:

* January 3, 2006: Second Session commenced at noon.
* October 6, 2006: Target date for adjournment.
* January 3, 2007: The 109th Congress will end.